Coaches Notes:
Lisa, is an incredible woman and like all of us, her journey has shaped her to become the wonderful, caring, determined and outstanding human she is. We are thrilled that Lisa is a member of Our CrossFit family and feel so grateful that she has shared her journey for you to connect with. I trust it will resonate with you on some level and wish you all the best in your journey.
Tristan 🙂
……………….
Lisa G
Growing up, I learnt the only person you can ever truly rely on is yourself. It’s something you can control and choose – you can let yourself down, or you can choose to believe in yourself.
It’s this self belief that defines me and gives me strength.
I have always been strong and determined, with the belief that nothing is impossible.
I grew up in the Yarra Valley. A childhood spent outside, largely on my own, with my horses. I learned responsibility and accountability from an early age.
I used to be a boxer. I trained twice a day, getting up early to run or weight train, and racing out of work at the end of the day to make it in time for training. I persisted with boxing through three incredibly difficult years of nine failed IVF attempts, heartbreak and endless disappointment.
After I finally had a second child, I admitted to myself I no longer had the time or the passion I once had for boxing. I spent several months doing high-intensity weight training, and while I loved to lift, I didn’t get the same rush as being in the boxing ring.
Then I discovered Crossfit. I used to think it was a sport for wankers, filled with injuries, bad form and 1000 box jumps for time.
How wrong I was.
As soon as I started, I was obsessed and addicted. I threw myself into training six days a week, five Crossfit, one running session. I knew immediately that I wanted to compete.
I am a mother of two small children, and I have a demanding full time career.
Crossfit is my hobby and the one thing I have in my life that is just for me. I am incredibly hard on myself, and I often find it difficult to see and acknowledge my achievements, despite my sense of self belief. I’ve never been good at accepting praise, as it wasn’t something I had a lot of growing up. I achieve something without acknowledging it, and I move onto the next thing.
When I reflect, I can see I have achieved so much in Crossfit. One of my proudest moments was deadlifting 100kgs. I can now lift 110kg, and I have my sites set on 120kg.
Every small achievement pushes me closer to achieving bigger goals. Like every crossfitter, I am aiming for muscle ups, but if I can link chest to bar pull ups in the coming months, I will be pretty happy.
My advice to others is, try this. Challenge yourself without compromise. I guarantee you’ll get results – body and mind. I am in the best shape of my life, and that’s after two kids.
I look after my body after years of cruelly abusing and hating it. My body is strong and serves me well. Being strong physically makes me feel stronger mentally, and I draw on this strength in my life outside the gym.
I’ve been doing crossfit for a year and there have been times when I’ve thought it’s too difficult and I’ll never be able to master certain movements. I’ve struggled with some of the lifts, and spent countless hours working on technique. It’s not in my nature to give up, so that’s never been an option, but I’ve had times where I’ve wondered why I do this to myself, and how much easier it would be to go for a run instead.
Crossfit is not for the faint hearted. It is for the fierce. If you think that’s not you, it’s worth having a look inside and searching for that small part of you that dares to imagine…what if I can?